TRAVERSE CITY -- Jump-starting Mother Nature requires some garden ingenuity.
Spring officially started Saturday, and March taunted with mild temperatures. But, it could be many weeks before frost is no longer a danger to northern Michigan's gardeners. Some eager growers are finding ways to plant early using indoor pots, cold frames and other techniques.
At PlantMasters of Suttons Bay, Eric VanThomme continues his family's longtime garden business. On a recent day this month, an earthy scent already filled the greenhouses, heated when necessary by natural gas. A crew planted perennials, and in another greenhouse the tiny, tender green leaves of Roma tomatoes sprang from soil. Outside the sprawling complex is a sign that states "Caution: Spring in progress."
"I'm in my glory days," VanThomme said.
As are many of this region's gardeners. Yet experts cautioned about the still-present risk of frost and freeze.
"Last year, we had a pretty hard frost all the way into early June so you never know really when it's time to get outdoors," said Duke Elsner, agriculture educator at the Michigan State University Extension in Grand Traverse County.
When to plant outside is the million-dollar question VanThomme gets asked. His rule is to wait until the last full moon of May but said even then growers need to be prepared to cover plants. He recommended using buckets, bedsheets or clay pots to cover. Do not let plastic covers touch plants.
"If skies are clear, and it is 50 degrees Fahrenheit or less by 9 p.m. it will probably frost," he said. "I swear by that."
There's plenty to be mindful of when starting a plant indoors. Indoor plants don't get enough light and "tend to grow very tall and thin," Elsner said.
"If you start too soon you end up with something large and difficult to transplant when the season finally comes," he said.
When it's time to move indoor plants outdoors, start the process gradually. The plants may get sunburned if exposed to too much sunlight, VanThomme said. He recommended acclimating the plants by giving them limited sun exposure outside each day before planting them.
Cold-tolerant plants such as lettuce, peas and cabbage can go in as soon as the ground is workable, VanThomme said. Tomatoes, however, should not be rushed.
"It's hard to beat nature. It's hard to cheat," VanThomme said. "No matter what you do, you're going to be eating tomatoes in July."
Elsner said small-scale greenhouses are widely available now in the big garden catalogues, and Internet searches turn up numerous plans for building cold frames. Both techniques allow growers to extend plants' precious time outdoors.
"Our growing season is very short. We can have frost into June, and we can have our first frost into August," said Amy Martin of Mesick.
She began using cold frames two garden seasons ago.
"They are not very big -- just enough space to get something started a little bit earlier without using extra heat and extra light," she said.
Her husband works in construction and brings home odds and ends that can be made into a cold frame. This winter, her big backyard garden already features a cold frame. The insulated space was made by shoveling out the snow, surrounding the spot with hay bales and laying a double-paned door on top. Underneath, she planted lettuce, which germinated March 9. Without the cold frame, Martin said she would have had to wait much longer.
"I'll have salad in April," she said.
Back at PlantMasters, VanThomme walked through the winding greenhouses. He stopped at a table, picked up a cover and peered at the green shoots popping up from the soil. That, he said, is a sure sign of spring.
"You smell the dirt. That's something that you miss in the winter," he said.
Vegetable Garden Calendar
January-February: Order seed catalogs
February-March: Order seeds
March-April: Prepare the soil when it is dry enough
April: Plant cool season vegetables (Check local planting dates)
May or later: Plant warm season vegetables after danger of frost
-- Source: Michigan State University Extension
10 steps to start a garden
View a multimedia slideshow illustrating these steps »
1. Choose a location in full sun, which means six or more hours of direct sun in summer.
2. Your site needs soil that is well-drained. Dig a hole, fill it with water and measure with a ruler how fast the level drops. Slower than 1 inch per hour is too slow. Choose another site or build raised beds.
3. Grow your garden as close as possible to your door.
4. Start small.
5. Fence your garden.
6. Make your garden pretty.
7. Planning your garden in four dimensions is a way to harvest more from limited space. Rather than single, widely spaced rows, plant in wide (3-4 feet) beds (a second dimension). Rather than keeping everything at ground level, let your vegetables -- those that can -- grow up (a third dimension). Pole beans and tomatoes can be trained up bamboo or metal poles, and peas and cucumbers can be trained up fences -- even that fence that encloses your garden. For the fourth dimension -- time -- use transplants for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and cucumbers, and plant shorter-season vegetables to follow those that finish early or start late, such as lettuce following early bush beans.
8. Pay attention to fertilizing and watering.
9. Weed regularly and frequently.
10. Grow vegetables that you like to eat, and choose the best-tasting varieties.
-- The Associated Press
Adele's revealing "60 Minutes" interview
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Exclusive Video: Bobbi Kristina Leaving Hospital
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Lusetich: AT&T Recap
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
2012 Grammys: Rihanna
2.12: Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- Phil Mickelson
2012 Grammys: Taylor Swift
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
